Nasogastric or oral tube feeding, and gastrostomy or jejunostomy tube feeding, have been conventionally used for the patients and the elderly who have difficulty taking food by mouth. Nasogastric or oral tube feeding is a method of continuously injecting nutrients such as liquid food via a tube inserted from the nose or mouth into the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, or jejunum; and gastrostomy or jejunostomy tube feeding is a method of continuously injecting nutrients such as liquid food via a tube placed in an external fistula that is surgically or endoscopically created at the esophagus or jejunum (often the stomach).
Since patients and the elderly to whom tube feeding is applied often have remarkably low function of the cardia at the upper stomach, gastro-esophageal reflux may occur when a liquid diet in the stomach is in the state of a low-viscosity liquid. To prevent gastro-esophageal reflux, the patient receiving the liquid diet must remain in the same seating position for a long period of time, and this imposes a great burden on care workers and the care recipient.
In contrast, when the liquid diet is in the state of a gel, or a high-viscosity liquid or paste, gastro-esophageal reflux can be suppressed. However, to inject the liquid diet through a tube, a high pressure must be applied for a long period of time, which also imposes a great burden on care workers.
To solve the above problems, Patent Literature 1 discloses a method for reducing or preventing vomiting, comprising tubal injection of a solution containing one or two or more members selected from kappa carrageenan, iota carrageenan, sodium alginate, and alginic acid before or after tubal injection of a mixture obtained by mixing a calcium ion supplier with an enteral nutrient.